A Modern Day Apocalypse
by fallendeHimmel
Summary: As the world is thrown into chaos, lost and on his own, Matthew Williams finds companionship in a man who has adapted to this world in stride. But when darker forces are at play, Matthew must decide between his heart and his mind. M for future violence and the like, possibly more adult themes
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, its me again. So I've been working on this story for awhile and was pretty nervous about putting it out, but now that I've worked on it more and developed it, I finally decided I could bring it here and unleash it upon you guys.**

**(And to those who are waiting on my Happily Ever After fic, HAVE NO FEAR, I am working on that as well. I have the next chapter done but I want to at least finish one more before I post them.)**

**Aaaanyways, I started this awhile ago, but I lost my flash-drive that I had all my stuff on and basically had to start from scratch here (and yes, I also had the other chapter for my other story there, sorry!)  
**

**I'm going to stop rambling soon, I promise, but first! I must tell you this jumps around a lot from past to present, so as to explain how it all started. HOPE YOU LIKE!  
**

* * *

His heart was pounding in his ears, panic jumbling up his mind as he ran. He couldn't stop. They would catch him. He didn't know how close they were, or whether he had lost them or not, but he was too terrified to turn his head to see. All he could do was run. Or they would catch him.

-o-o-o-o-o-

It all happened within a matter of days. No one really knows what happened, there were rumors that it was caused by the sun though. A solar flare probably. Not that it really matters what caused it, because one day, everything just stopped.

Matthew had woken up that day at the usual time. Alfred's alarm would go off without ever rousing the sleeping teen. Unfortunately Matthew was a light sleeper, and his body had become so accustomed to the practice of going and turning off the obnoxious beeping that even without the clock he would still promptly wake up at 6:30 AM every morning. This morning was no exception.

The blonde sat up in his small, comfortable bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and yawning. His back ached from working all day yesterday, and he really wished he could just sleep in for once. Even with this thought, he got up anyways, pulling the sheets away from his legs and placing his feet on the floor. Trying to pat down his bedhead, he made his way down the hallway and towards his brother's room.

Alfred was laying, as usual, in the oddest way. His head was hanging slightly off the mattress, his arms splayed out, while his left foot had found it way on top of his side table, where the clock typically sat. Matthew sighed, _so much for that poor piece of junk, its probably broken now... _he lightly shook his head as he walked into the kitchen, planning to make pancakes like he usually did. It was the only real way to wake up the boy in the other room.

The light was just beginning to shine in through the windows, the sky outside a warming grey tone, soon to change to pink. _Getting up early in the morning isn't all that bad_, he smiled at the growing brightness outside for a second, finding peace in the tranquil morning glow. Turning to the sink to wash his hands, he turned the knob for hot water. The faucet spouted liquid for a few seconds, then slowed, with just a few droplets falling now.

"What in the world?" Matthew wondered, opening the cabinet doors below the sink to make sure the pipes were open. Giving a frustrated huff, he hurried down to the bathroom in the hallway, twisting the knobs of the small sink to come to the same result. He tried the bathtub next, then tried flushing the toilet. When no water refilled the bowl, he grew irritated, and slightly panicked. He paid the bills not even two weeks ago, what could be wrong?

"Maybe I should give the company a call, sort this out..." But as soon as he picked up the phone he was met with silence. No dial tone. He dropped the phone back on the receiver, staring at nothing with a vacant expression.

Going back into the kitchen, he decided the he could calm his mind and work things out while he made pancakes, and then talk with Alfred once he woke up. The plan put him at ease a bit, until he opened the refrigerator door.

The absence of cold was the first thing that alerted him something was wrong. Lukewarm air rolled out of the fridge, and with it the second thing. It smelled like something had soured, and with closer inspection he noticed the leftovers in the Tupperware now had a waxy look to them along with any other open food.

Slowly he closed the door and just stood, staring. After what seemed like an hour, he turned and silently strode into Alfred's room and, without a word, grabbed his leg a flipped him out of bed.

"Holy sh-" Alfred woke with a start, his hair and shirt bedraggled, "Mattie? What the fruck? Why did you do that?" Still sitting on the floor, he rubbed the back of his head.

"Alfred"

"Yes?"

"Something isn't right."

"Well _obviously_," The older blonde rolled his eyes "or I wouldn't have had such a rude awakening. You still didn't tell me why you d-"

"Nothing's working." Matthew just stared at his brother, his face absent of any emotion.

"What?"

"The water, the electricity, the phone, nothing is working."

Alfred looked at his brother like he had lost his marbles. This was too much to take in this early in the morning. Without a word, he grabbed the blanket off his bed and pulled it around himself as he lay on the ground, turning to face the wall.

"I'm gong back to sleep..." he mumbled, already dozing off.

"Alfred! I'm serious!" Matthew whined, breaking out of his previous state of shock due to the slight irritation sparked by his brother.

"Fine fine! I'll get up!" He huffed, rolling back over to investigate his brothers findings.

-o-o-o-o-o-

He turned another corner, ducking into a dark alley, slipping in a small puddle of water but catching himself with his hands and propelling forward all in one motion, staying upright through sheer force of will. He could hear the shouts from his pursuers, unnervingly close, and he pushed harder, so hard that he might collapse at any second. But he couldn't let himself be caught, not after Alfred had sacrificed himself for Matthews sake, creating a diversion so that his only brother could get away.

Tears sprang into Matthews eyes, the memory rocking him to his very core. Why did Alfred always have to be the hero? Why couldn't he think about himself for once? And the fact that he was still being chased meant that his brother's plan had failed. He either got away or got caught, and if he got caught...well he had no idea what would happen, but he knew that it wouldn't be pleasant, they might...

He didn't finish the thought. He suddenly found himself at a dead end, the path ending with a solid brick wall more than 15 feet high and he could hear footfalls echoing down the alley fast approaching.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The streets were empty for the most part. There were no cars out on the road at least, but there were people here and there, wandering aimlessly or just standing around. It was overcast today, and the darkness painted everything in a grey tone. A few doors down, the two could hear a grinding noise as their neighbor attempted to start their car. Alfred walked over to see if he could be of any help, and gave Matthew an opportunity to talk to the other man.

"It's not starting?" Alfred asked "Lemme give you a hand," he said, gesturing for the man to pop open the hood.

"Oh," he was startled by their sudden appearance, but complied with Alfred's request, reaching down to lift the small handle. "I just can't seem to figure out what's wrong with it, everything seemed fine to me earlier, but it just won't start up." Running a hand through his hair he sighed.

"How long has it been like this?" Matthew inquired, wondering if the same had happened to him, Joe, if he remembered correctly.

"I don't know, I woke up to go to work but I couldn't get the car to start. I tried calling the office to tell them I'd be late but the phones are dead."

"Hmm," Alfred sounded. He was looking intently at the vehicle parts, every now and then ducking in close to the engine to get a better view. He was a fanatic about engines, first inspired by the magnificence of world war fliers, his knowledge expanding far beyond so that cars were now child's play to him. "I can't seem to find anything wrong at the moment, so its not an easy fix kind of thing." He frowned, still inspecting the engine.

"Do you think its happening to everyone? Because our power and phones were out as well." Matthew asked.

"Water too." His brother added.

"Hmm, I didn't notice anything going on with the power, but then again I was already running late and was only really focused on getting out of there." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Alfred sighed as he brought the hood back down. "Maybe we should walk into town Mattie, see what's going on and how much of the city is affected."

"Okay, but lets grab a bite to eat first, I have a feeling that its going to be a long trip..."

* * *

**And there ya go! First chapter yo. I'll try and have the second one up by next week, but no promises~ I have chapter 3 4 and 5 written, but not chapter 2. (yeah, I know, I'm getting ahead of myself) But I will get to working on it! Reviews make me type faster! Inspiration to the max!**

**(It'll do a bit more of the jumping around n the next chapter, but after that it should just settle into the present. I have a friend who hates it when I do that lol  
**

**Thanks for reading~  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Took me forever to get the motivation to finish this one (~=[]=)~ yeah, I'm so bad. But look! It's done! And I have the next five chapters completed already, but I'm going to withhold posting those ones, cause I'm mean like that. (or more like it gives me time to work on other stuff while still putting this one up semi-regularly~) Mild language from here on out, so uh, if your sensitive or something like that, suck it up I guess? The rating should be of some warning to you lol**

**Hope you like~**

* * *

They saw so many people milling about, wandering aimlessly about the streets when their lives literally changed over night. Out more in the suburbs people would be visiting with each other, trying to help their neighbors or seeing if anyone had any news on what had happened. But the farther they walked and the closer they came to the city, the more and more trouble they started to see. There was a cop patrolling the area every other block or so, yelling heard in the now otherwise silent city. They could see store windows broken open, the insides ransacked as far as they could tell. The first few places they saw like this had their windows boarded up, owners standing outside trying to recover what they could of their business, but soon these sights were more and more frequent, and less and less people seemed to care.

They had made it to the city not much longer later and were shocked at the state it was in. Like everything else they noticed, this change was also gradual. The streets were more crowded with broken down cars, shouts breaking the silence every few minutes, and the people who walked here did so with hunched shoulders, as if to hide themselves from prying eyes. Matthew was startled to see a fire burning a nearby vehicle, no one really taking notice to it as he and Alfred did. The smell of burning exhaust and metal stung at his eyes, but they continued walking, just like everyone else.

Finally, the timid blonde spoke up, the two having walked in silence the entire time. "Alfred, do…do you think its like this everywhere?" He was staring wide eyed straight ahead, as if he was afraid to look his older brother in the eye.

Alfred gave his hand a squeeze, trying to comfort the other. Sometimes he wished that twins really could read each others mind, because it was hard for him to answer back aloud.

"I don't know."

They continued walking, the silence falling back over them as both contemplated their grim futures. They were nearly to the heart of the city now, the people they saw growing in numbers. Up ahead there were a number of police officers standing in a loose group, yellow tape sectioning off the area behind them.

"Maybe they know something…c'mon Mattie, lets go see." Alfred tugged his brother forward, hoping to finally talk to someone who might know just what was going on. Though before they could get closer to the group a cop stepped in to stop them.

"I'm sorry but I can't let anyone any further." The large man stated, his expression grim.

"What happened?" Matthew couldn't help but ask. His anxiety was growing over the entire thing.

The officer let out a weary sigh, "Seems to be a mass suicide, but we cant tell for sure. Though it looks to be pretty likely. Seems they all jumped together"

"S-suicide?" The short blondes eyes widened at the information.

_People just, killed themselves? Just like that? Could it really be that bad? Is it worse than we thought? Oh god…_

Alfred could see his brother pale at the new information, hurrying to change the subject to what he hoped were lighter matters. "Do you know if its like this everywhere else? I mean, someplace has to be still functioning, right?"

The man heaved another sigh, as if he had heard this question more than once today. "Look, we don't know what's going on with the rest of the world. Though I'm sure that if we were the only place affected then the government would have been all over the place by now. I don't know what else to tell ya kid." He simply shook his head and walked off, leaving the siblings standing there, dumbfounded.

Matthew was the first to speak, "Alfred, what if…what if things don't get better? What if everything just gets worse, what if…what if-"

"Matthew, Matthew look at me." Alfred grabbed his brothers shoulders, turning him so that they were eye to eye. He could see the fear and uncertainty in the lavender eyes, his own stare growing more intense in response. "Listen here and listen close, I will never leave you. No matter what happens, so long as we have each other everything will be okay. Even if the world were to crumble around us, all we need is each other. Got it?"

Matthew blinked. He had never heard his brother say anything like that before, especially not with such a serious expression. He could feel himself nodding before he was aware of it, but regardless he believed every word that his brother said. It could be the way Alfred held himself up, or how every time Matthew needed someone his brother was always there for him. It didn't matter why, all he knew was that it was true. All they needed was each other.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The loud footsteps mimicked the pounding in his chest, his heartbeat frantic as he tried to find a way out his dire situation. In a quick decision, he darted behind a stack of creates, the alley full of all kinds of junk already, squeezing himself into a tight spot but hoping he was hidden. He held his breath as the men came into view, their expressions bewildered at the disappearance of their mouse.

_Yes, just walk away…_Matthew chanted in his mind, willing them to turn around and leave.

"He has to be here somewhere, search through the garbage!" One of the dark haired men yelled to the others.

_Shit._

-o-o-o-o-o-

When both of them had felt they'd seen enough they left the city, heading back to their home to figure out their next move. They knew how quickly the situation was heading downhill, so they made sure to pick up some supplies on their way home; some places were still intact and running semi-normally. The sun was almost set, though stubbornly clinging to the sky as it glimpsed over the horizon.

_Even during at the end of the world, the sunset is as beautiful as ever_, Matthew mulled, looking at the pink tinged sky with the same peace as he did this morning. Matthew was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't notice when his brother stopped, roughly bumping into the other person.

"Alfred? Why'd you stop?" He peered over his brothers shoulder to find the object of his attention. His body froze when he found it.

They were on their street, the house a few doors farther down from them, but the gaping doorway was easily seen at this distance. "You locked the door didn't you?" Matthew asked, shocked.

"I guess locked doors don't really mean much anymore." He replied through clenched teeth. Alfred slowly resumed walking, his body tense as they approached their home. Matthew could see the broken glass from the window on the porch, the slight breeze brushing against the curtain inside. "Stay here."

"Why? I'm not letting you go in there by yourself, what if the person is still inside?" Matthew rasped. He was not going to let that happen.

"That's exactly why." Alfred said simply as he started to approach. Regardless, Matthew followed anyways, not caring what his brother insisted on; he wasn't going to let Alfred do this on his own.

Upon entering their home they knew that whoever had been here before was long gone now. The house was practically torn apart, it looked like a tornado had run through it, leaving with all their valuables. Alfred went and searched through the rest of the house, leaving his brother standing amongst the chaos that had been the living room.

Alfred walked back to see his brother crouched down holding a broken picture frame in his hands. It was the one of them and their parents, the summer at the lake house before they passed away. It had been over two years ago, but the memory of their loving parents still stung them both. He placed a gentle hand on his brothers shoulder.

"No ones here, they probably left awhile ago." He paused, waiting for his brother to reply. Seeing that he wasn't going to get one, Alfred continued. "Matthew, we can't stay here. You know that right? We might be able to come back eventually, but right now we can't."

"I know." Matthew sighed, standing. Carefully he removed the picture from the frame, avoiding the broken glass, and folded it up before placing it in his jacket pocket.

Inside, he knew that they would never come back.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The men were coming closer to him, making their way though the piles of garbage, every minute ticking away in his mind until they found him. One man was close now, only two feet away as he sifted though the boxes. Matthew willed himself to sit still, the adrenaline rushing through his veins making it increasingly difficult to do so.

The crate to his left shifted, the other man moving it in his search, ultimately pinning his arm painfully to the wall. Matthew stifled a gasp, closing his eyes as he tried to ignore the uncomfortable position. Nervously he glanced up, immediately regretting the action as his eyes met the others.

* * *

**This part is a little rushed, but I hate writing things twice. I had written out this chapter before, but I lost it (to those of whom don't already know)You guys know who the people chasing him are? (not specific names though lol) Cookies if you get it right~ they're tasteless and have no substance, but they're cookies none the less :D I didn't give many hints though did I? Oh well, guess anyways!  
**

**We're all done with the flashbacks here and the next chapter will pretty much be all present stuff. Reviews?**


	3. Chapter 3

**I think I could die happy. I could die right now and be happy.**

**Well. Not right now. No. But that's not the point. The point iiiis IM GOING TO GERMANY IN LIKE THREE WEEKS! ACH MEIN GOTT ES IST SEHR SEHR AUFREGENDE~~~ I plan on taking so many frecking pictures and I am going to hit on some random German guy at a club. Yup, that's the plan. Next year (as I do plan on going again because my friend is doing it then) we are going to hit on any unlucky victim that passes us (oh yes, this is just one of the few things on our "bucket list" before leaving the amazing country that is Deutschland) but this year is mostly for me to scope, as next year is the year both of us will be 18 and able to party it up at York.**

**Thanks for listening to me ramble on, I plan on posting at least one more chapter for each of my current stories before I disappear for three weeks in the beginning of summer.  
**

**Dude, there's only two weeks left of school. Kinda one if you consider the last week is all Final exams... =.= and the entire year I have not spoken to the guy I still seem to be crushing on who has had at least one class with me the past two years. God I'm a loser. I just don't know how to talk to guys I guess. Wonder how that will work out in Germany...fuuuu-  
**

**Well enough of my angsty peppy self, onto Matthew's angsty, not as peppy self!**

* * *

Matthew froze, his breath catching in his throat as he looked into the flat, dark eyes of his pursuer peering over the edge of the crate. Time seemed to slow, while in his head he was forming hundreds of apologies to his brother. Apologizing for getting caught, for not being stronger, for always relying on him for strength. He could only think about how he must have let Alfred down, and how at least if he got away then Alfred wouldn't have to worry about him anymore.

In the mere seconds he spent in his thoughts, the other man turned away, joining the waiting gang of men and walking back down the alley, frustration evident in their voices and one saying something about ghosts.

The blonde continued to stare into the now empty space, his mouth agape in shock. It took a moment before he remembered to breathe; causing him to gasp and take in lung full's of air.

_He…he didn't see me? I thought for sure I was caught, how did I…?_

Calming his breathing, he sat in silence, listening for any sign of them still nearby. Just in case. Though night was falling fast, he still stayed in his hiding place, thinking that they may be waiting for him to move and reveal himself. His paranoia willed him to be still, him sitting in a cramped and curled up position behind a box, back pushing awkwardly against the wall and right arm stilled pinned.

The longer he waited though, the more his resolve began to crumble. It had been nearly two hours now since they had left, and the ache in his muscles had grown unbearable, so much that he couldn't stay still any longer.

The small movements he made were deafening in the silence of the alley, the blonde cringing at the sudden noise, pulling slightly back into the darkness. His heart was pounding, its beat quickening in the stressed silence. Trying again, he got up, wincing at how loud it was in his ears since it had been quiet for so long.

He grimaced as he stood, needles prickling in his legs and the blood flowed back through them. It was dark now, and Mathew could hardly see the wall of the alley, let alone all the obstacles he knew were laying around. Sighing, he slowly walked back the direction he knew he had come from , groping the air in front of him to keep from running into something, moving his feet forward slowly.

The trip out of the alley was uneventful, only the startling of a cat that scared him out of his wits and caused an awful lot of noise, but other than that he made it without too much difficulty. His eyes had adjusted to the darkness now, the smiling moon helping to illuminate the street some.

_Alfred._

A pang of sadness ran through him, realizing that he was all alone now. His brother had promised him that he would always be by his side, but now he was gone, and Matthew had no idea where he could be. The feeling of loosing his twin brother in this situation brought tears to his eyes, the moisture pooling up until they finally began to spill over and run down his face. He could hear the droplets hitting the pavement at his feet, echoing in the still night. With a weary sigh, he dragged his sleeve over his face until they were gone, trying to ignore the knotted feeling in his gut. Instead he wanted to figure out his fist move, how he would find his brother and where he should even start looking for him. It was too dark to even think about finding his brother at the moment though.

Being more tired than anything, he stumbled back into the opening of the alley, finding a clean enough looking spot between two garbage heaps and sat down. It wasn't the most comfortable position he'd ever slept in, but in minutes was out like a light.

-o-o-o-o-o-

The first rays of light stirred him from his sleep, squinting at the brightness that assaulted his eyes. It took a moment for him to register where he was, confusion replaced by sadness as he recalled the events from last night. With a sigh, he hefted himself up to his feet, swaying a bit from the action, and figured that there was no more reason for him to stay here.

He began to walk, intending to go back to where him and Alfred were first separated, but quickly got lost among the broken buildings and burnt, mangled cars. At one point the caught his reflection and gave a sudden, startling bust of laughter. He was covered from head to toe in dirt, his face dark and smudged with it. Talk about dumb luck, that was probably the only reason the asain gang hadn't found him hiding in the dark alley. He wiped at his face with the sleeve of his jacket, giving an approving grunt when he got most of it off of his skin.

Now wondering aimlessly, he looked down at his stomach when it produced an audible growl, remembering the bags left behind in the mad dash to escape the men, the food they had scavenged forgotten. He now regretted skipping lunch, fisting his hand in his dirty red hoodie, trying to muffle the noise as another growl escaped it.

_Maybe I should look for a convenience store or something…_

Sighing, he began keeping his eye out for such, knowing that it was probably a wasted effort, but welcomed the distraction. Many storefronts were broken, the windows shattered when people began rioting and looting the cities, and the contents were either missing or haphazardly strewn across the ground. He had found two places near to where he was, but both were almost completely empty, overturned shelves and wrappers his only findings. With a sigh, he continued down the road, randomly turning down roads with no real reference as to where he was headed.

Standing outside of a 7-11, he hefted a sigh. "Well, they say the 3rd times the charm." With a grimace, he pushed open the doors, the chime announcing his entrance making him cringe. His stomach dropped as he looked upon a wreckage that mimicked all the stores before it, face twisting into a grimace.

_Whoever came up with that saying should get punched in the face._

Regardless, he still looked through it, ignoring the rotting smell emitting from the back of the room where the refrigerators no longer ran. With another reluctant sigh, he exited the store and chose a random direction, not caring if he was walking back the way he came. He could feel the first effects of dehydration when his mouth started going dry, his tongue like sandpaper. With a gulp he decided to push that issue aside for now, hoping he would come across some water source before he would have to go to desperate measures. It was like this that he walked for a few hours, not coming upon anything of interest as he tried to figure out were exactly he was.

Walking along the road he came across a tall building, a chunk of the lower half missing from it. He skittered to the other side of the street, always feeling uneasy when being near a building that was no longer structurally sound. He knew the reason it was like that, he had seen too many like it before. He could remember a close encounter with a terrorist, a man that they eventually discovered had bombs strapped to his chest.

-o-

"_Hey Sean, why did you want to come here so badly?" They had been traveling the man for the past couple days, happening to be going the same direction as the other and welcoming the companionship. He was always a bit jittery, but very friendly. The only odd thing was that he desperately wanted them to come with him to this large building in a nearby city, one Matthew pointedly forgot the name of. It had seemed odd, some nights Sean would go on heated rants about the government, how he said that they were behind this whole mess, but neither of the twins made the connection as Sean tried entering the massive place._

"_You'll see," was the only answer the other man gave._

_Shrugging it off, the brothers began helping him, Alfred finding a large enough rock and hurling it at the window, shattering the glass doors. Matthew felt uneasy about doing these things; breaking into peoples homes, stealing food from abandoned buildings, it all went against his morals. But there isn't much else to do in this situation, so he just quietly followed Sean and Alfred in._

_Though as soon as a route in had been cleared, Sean dashed in, disappearing into the darkness of the building before Matthew and Alfred could adjust to the lack of light. "Sean?" Alfred shouted, trying to figure out where the other man had gone. When their eyes finally focused enough, they found themselves in the middle of a nice lobby, the place looking previously untouched. _

_Hearing rummaging coming from a hallway leading farther into the building, they followed the sound until they found Sean, his back to them, kneeling down and rummaging though his bag. His was in the middle of a large room, filing cabinets lining the walls and metal tables with test tubes and other lab equipment on them. _

"_Sean? What are you doing in here?" The man in question turned around sharply, a disturbing smile placed on his face. He had something in his hands, though Matthew couldn't quite tell what it was; Sean holding it close to his body._

"_I'm going to get rid of them, I'm going to ruin their plans, put a stop to all of this! It's worth the sacrifice, to die for the cause! I'm saving them you see, saving all of them!" Matthew and Alfred he both taken a step back at this point, disturbed by their companions sudden change._

"_Sean, what in the world are you talking about?" Alfred finally said, stepping forward slightly, careful though of his movements._

"_The government! This whole mess, the very reason we are fighting for our lives every day, its all because of the government! Its all because of them!" He turned around fully now, and Matthew could see odd rectangles strapped to his chest, a mess of wires tangled among them underneath his black jacket. _

_His eyes widened though when they fell upon the small remote in his hand. _

Oh god.

"_This is all I have to do! I'm a savior! Once all of their stuff is destroyed, there's nothing they'll be able to do about it! He said that we'd all be repaid for this, that we'd be seen as heroes! Don't you want to help them? Don't you want to be a hero?" His eyes were crazed now, filled with the belief of some crazed man who convinced them they were doing a good thing. They had heard of people doing this kind of stuff, blowing up buildings or people, convinced of one thing or another. But never in a million years did either think that they would actually meet such a person._

_Alfred spoke up again, the shock in his voice evident. "Man, what the hell? Being a hero doesn't mean blow up a building and kill innocent people, your supposed to help them out, save them, keep them from getting hurt." _

_Sean's eyes grew dark at Alfred's accusation, his glare murderous. "Oh, I see how it is. I thought you guys were my friends, but now I can see your just as bad as them." He stepped backwards slowly, his eyes always on them._

_Matthew began stumbling backward, pulling Alfred by the sleeve as Sean lifted his arm above his head, the remote in his ready hand._

He shuddered at the memory, the image of a man he considered his friend disappearing before his very eyes in the explosion still gave him nightmares. They had barely even made it out of the way of the blast, Alfred had only managed to throw the table over a split second before it had hit them, and it was an even closer call trying to get out of the building as it fell apart around them.

Even now he is wary of buildings that have been subjected to the same thing. They quickly learned just how many people went blowing themselves up in large buildings, typically inhabited or simply government ones, and it really gave both of them the creeps. Alfred mostly because he was completely convinced that they were haunted.

Awhile after he passed the crumbling structure, finally feeling a bit of calm at being away from the broken building, he saw another convenience store farther down the road. With a little more purpose in his step he sped up his walk.

_Maybe the 4__th__ times the charm._

* * *

**Well ther ya go! In a moment of generosity (and possibly adrenaline rush) I decided to go ahead and post this one ryte hur. (I think I got waaaaaay too much sleep yesterday, I'm in such a good mood) **_  
_

**Thanks for being your patient selves, awesome and all that Prussia stuff rubbing of on all a ya'll. Well, not the patience. But the awesomeness. Yes, the awesomeness.  
**

**I LOVE YOU GUIZE  
**

**ICH LIEBE UNS! ALLE UNS! Vielen Dank fur lesen!  
**

**I don't have umlauts on my computer...crud.  
**

**(Basically I love us. Yes us, we are all great together if i do say so myself. Oh, and thank you for reading!)  
**

**-A/N out-  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I was in Germany for three weeks, so I have no regrets! Here's the next chapter, featuring *drum-rolls* GILBERT! *aahhhhhh* **

**(yeah, thats my crowd cheering noise)**

**Anyways, thanks for waiting!**

* * *

"Looks like it's going to rain soon," a man with stark white hair pulled down his goggles and squinted up at the sky, bringing up his gloved hand to block the sunlight.

Next to him, a burly man stood up, his blond hair slicked back against his head. He carried a much more built physic, rippling muscles stretching across his upper arms as he hefted a load onto his shoulders. "Bruder, I know you don't like doing this work, but when you try to come up with an excuse to get out of it, find a better one." He gestured with his free hand to the blue sky above, emphasizing his point. At the moment they were going through the ruble of a half collapsed building, rummaging for any salvageable objects they could use or barter, sometimes even just scraps to use for other things. At the moment Ludwig was carrying what was left of an old love seat he managed to unearth, and Gilbert had to wonder why old people always had the most revolting floral print furniture.

_He'd better be planning to barter that._

"As if, besides, I know what I'm talking about." He pointed at the glimpse of horizon that could be seen between the buildings around them. Large grey clouds were looming towards them, still far away but from the wind that had picked up they knew that it wouldn't be long.

"Ach, scheiße. Well I guess we should get back before it gets here then, this thing doesn't need to smell any mustier than it already does." Shifting the weight to a more comfortable position on his shoulder, Ludwig started his cautious decent back onto solid ground.

"I'll meet you at home in a bit, I wanna go and check on something before heading back." Gilbert explained when he began walking the opposite direction.

"Fine, but hurry, Antonio might just have a heart attack if he knew I let you run off again after what happened last time." He gave Gilbert a pointed look.

"Hey hey, that Asian guy had it coming to him!"

"And you got your ass handed to you." Another pointed look.

"I was about to kick his ass before you walked in!"

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you were." Ludwig scoffed, turning away, missing the middle finger Gilbert threw him before following suit and going off on his own.

* * *

**Ha, Gilbert can be so cheeky sometimes, or _Fresh_ as the Germans would call it lol**

**Wow, this is short though huh?  
**

**But yeah, can you guess what happens next? :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Man I'm just uploading all kinds of stuff today. THE PRUCAN MAY FINALLY BEGIN. MUAHAHAHAHA**

**Yeah, sorry, I just..**

**Yeah**

**I don't own anything .-.**

* * *

Gilbert made it under the small alcove of the building a few minutes later, his eyes searching the dark space for the object of his attention. A small flutter of yellow from the corner of his eye brought a relieved smile to his face, and standing on his tip toes he found a small nest tucked into the corner of the space, sticks and grasses poking out of a hole in the wall. A second later, the yellow creature flew at him, emitting a chirp as it landed on his head.

"Hey birdie, miss me?" Its yellow feathers bristled at him, nuzzling its face farther into his hair. "Hey hey, enough of that, I brought food for you but I can't really stay long, just wanted to make sure you'd be warm enough before it starts raining hmm?" Reaching into his pocket, Gilbert pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds, shelling a few before handing it off to the bird that still sat on top of his head.

"Ya know? I never thought of a name for you." Making a face as if in thought, "Guess it was because I never thought you were going to make it in the condition you were in before, but now you seem healthy as an ox." An approving chirp brought the corners of his mouth up, a warm smile on his face. "Hmm, how aboooouuut...oh I got it! How about Gilbird? You know, after the awesome me? It's perfect really." He let out a laugh.

Another chirp from above let him know that his name was accepted.

"Well, I'd best get going. Your probably tired after eating all of that anyways," He said after seeing the its eyelids droop over the beady black eyes, its feathers ruffling up for warmth as he set Gilbird back into its nest. "Here, just in case I can't make it back here tomorrow," Gilbert set down a small handful of sunflower seeds next to him, careful not to leave enough to attract any rodents or other scavengers.

He threw another look over his back as he left the bird in the safety of the small alcove, making sure everything was good before he left and began making his way back to the makeshift home him and his brother had set up together. They had adapted rather quickly to the situation that humanity had been thrown into, their father had always told them that something like this would happen, though Gilbert had always hoped it would have more zombies or something, more fun that way anyways. But no, it hadn't, but a lot of things the man had put them through helped them greatly in this situation, even if originally he thought that learning about survival tactics, like scavenging for useable objects or just food, was of little importance. Turns out he uses those more than any combative skills these days, and he now appreciated the knowledge. Not that he would ever admit to Ludwig that.

It was lucky that he had been with his friends at the time that all this started happening. Francis had been a total wreck when his phone stopped working and he couldn't get a hold of any of his girlfriends, and Toni, well Toni didn't really seem to understand what exactly it all meant. Trying to go grocery shopping during all of this was really one of the worst ideas that man has ever had. And they've all done some pretty stupid shit together.

Looking up, he took note that the clouds were practically on top of the city now, and boy did it look like they were in for it. He could hear a low rumble building somewhere above him and quickened his pace to try and beat the rain, so he didn't notice the figure ahead of him until he was only a few feet away, practically on top of the boy in Gilbert's opinion, but the other person didn't notice his presence yet. A boy in a red hoodie was walking ahead of him, his pace sluggish, and he seemed to be examining the store window near him. Gilbert glanced at the remains of a sign he was pretty sure used to say "Kum&Go" and had to hold back his laugh at the sexual innuendo. He watched as the other person went inside, peeking through the window to see him rummaging about the garbage on the floor.

_Does he really think there's anything here? Anything worth eating was taken long ago._

He continued to peek in, noticing how the boy didn't seem to try very hard to find anything, as if he never really expected there to be anything he could use or eat. He ducked his head back when the other person turned around, quick to hide himself when the blonde stepped out over the broken glass and back onto the sidewalk, stumbling a bit over the larger bits of debris. Gilbert watched the receding back of the other person with growing interest. Who was he? He had never seen this person around before; not that that was unusual, plenty of people pass through the city all the time, but their type typically avoided the inner parts of the city like this because of the gangs that usually take up residence there. Even when they do, it's usually with more people, all of them carrying their lives on their backs in the form of large backpacks. This boy carried nothing, wandering aimlessly through the denser part of this place with no caution, just following wherever his stomach must be pointing him.

Quietly, Gilbert stepped out of his hiding place from behind the corner, following behind the blonde at a distance. _Maybe he lives here but ran out of supplies_. Gilbert had run into a few people like that, most of which were a little on the nuttier side due to isolation. But the more he watched the other person, the more he doubted that possibility, and the more worried he became. Every now and again the wind would cause the hoodie to mold to the contours of his body, showing a petite build, hinting at the fragile body it covered.

_Why am I following him?_ Gilbert paused, his steps faltering. _I should be getting home, not following some straggler. It's not like he has anything to do with me, and people these days only bring trouble...so why am I still following him? _Whenever the boy would stumble or sway, Gilbert had to resist the urge to catch him, to help him regain balance.

_What is this? The awesome me does not have time to be worrying about street rats. _He thought harshly, berating himself for doing this. But immediately he felt bad for thinking such thoughts.

He quickened his pace when the boy disappeared behind a corner, ignoring the growing rumble above him. Rounding past the edge of the building a few moments after the boy had, he jerked to a halt, and it took a moment to process the crumpled up body on the ground in front of him. His breath caught in his throat, chest tightening up as he absorbed the sight in front of him. It looked as though the boy had simply fallen over, but in the moments Gilbert had been standing in shock he had made no visible attempts to get up. Despite his logic telling him to leave the boy alone and that he would just be a burden to him, he couldn't stop himself from walking over to help the person lying on the ground at his feet. With caution, assessing any injuries as he looked at the person, he turned the boy over onto his back.

He was startled at the apparent malnourished condition the he was in; he looked as though he hadn't eaten in days. The fact that Gilbert could feel the others body through his jacket only deepened the worry he had already felt. His ash blonde hair was stuck to his forehead with sweat, raged breaths shaking his frame. Long, pale lashes were closed behind skewed glasses, expression fixed with unease, and the dirt covering his face only made him look worse.

After a moment longer he made a decision, knowing full well how this choice would change many things for him and those around him. With little effort he picked up the other person off the ground, the bundle in his arms stiff against him, and began carrying him back in his original direction, raindrops just beginning to fall as he walked.

* * *

**Already working on the next chapter, but I don't know when I will have it up .-. I haven't updated my Demonology 101 story for awhile... god I feel bad now**

**Sorry for making you guys wait for so long, please don't eat me  
**


End file.
